Thomas Silverstein has been locked under the tightest conditions in the federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) in total isolation since he murdered a correctional officer in 1983. The lights are kept on 24 hours a day in
his cell. At first, the BOP stripped him to his boxer shorts and did not let him have anything in his cell. While
security cameras were being installed, two guards sat outside his cell and watched him round the clock. He was kept
under these conditions for six months.
The BOP then began giving Silverstein additional privileges, such as a television set and drawing
materials. Part of the reason was because the BOP realized that it is nearly impossible to control an inmate unless
you have something to take away from him as punishment. Silverstein spends much of his day drawing. He is entirely
self-taught. The BOP has refused to allow him to enter his work in prison sponsored art shows at Leavenworth where
convicts can sell their work to the public. It does not want Silverstein to profit from his notoriety. After I included
one of his drawings in The Hot House, I began receiving requests from readers to see more of his work. I am posting
several of his drawings here. They are not for sale. You also should be aware that his views are exactly that -- his
views. Silverstein told me that if I ever wished to understand him, I needed to understand his art because that is
how he spoke from his heart. Hence his drawings.
Some of these drawings are of Silverstein's basement cell in Leavenworth where he was kept when
I first met him. Notice that there are two sets of bars between him and everyone else. When we talked, I was locked
in the cell that borders his cell.
When I first asked Silverstein for an interview, he asked me to send him one of my books as proof
that I was not an FBI agent. After I sent him one, a prison official complained. He said that he didn't think I
should have given a murderer a free book when I hadn't given any guards free books. Silverstein overheard several
guards grumbling and sent me this drawing.
NEW DRAWINGS BY THE HOT HOUSE'S SILVERSTEIN
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Thomas Silverstein has been locked under the tightest conditions in the federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) in total isolation since he murdered a correctional officer in 1983. The lights are kept on 24 hours a day in
his cell. At first, the BOP stripped him to his boxer shorts and did not let him have anything in his cell. While
security cameras were being installed, two guards sat outside his cell and watched him round the clock. He was kept
under these conditions for six months.
The BOP then began giving Silverstein additional privileges, such as a television set and drawing
materials. Part of the reason was because the BOP realized that it is nearly impossible to control an inmate unless
you have something to take away from him as punishment. Silverstein spends much of his day drawing. He is entirely
self-taught. The BOP has refused to allow him to enter his work in prison sponsored art shows at Leavenworth where
convicts can sell their work to the public. It does not want Silverstein to profit from his notoriety. After I included
one of his drawings in The Hot House, I began receiving requests from readers to see more of his work. I am posting
several of his drawings here. They are not for sale. You also should be aware that his views are exactly that -- his
views. Silverstein told me that if I ever wished to understand him, I needed to understand his art because that is
how he spoke from his heart. Hence his drawings.
Some of these drawings are of Silverstein's basement cell in Leavenworth where he was kept when
I first met him. Notice that there are two sets of bars between him and everyone else. When we talked, I was locked
in the cell that borders his cell.
When I first asked Silverstein for an interview, he asked me to send him one of my books as proof
that I was not an FBI agent. After I sent him one, a prison official complained. He said that he didn't think I
should have given a murderer a free book when I hadn't given any guards free books. Silverstein overheard several
guards grumbling and sent me this drawing.